This blog has nothing to do with gorillas (though I love 'em)...fellow bloggers have inspired me to share vintage images of Disneyland from my personal collection. But don't be surprised if you see something from a World's Fair, Knott's Berry Farm, or someplace else that is cool!

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Continuing a very small batch from 1966, we'll take a quick photo-op outside the beautiful Haunted Mansion - still years away from opening. I wonder if the façade was lit at night? Or did they let it go dark so that it didn't draw guests to it like moths to a flame? Mom looks relaxed, but I can tell that Junior has a serious case of the heebie-jeebies.

You sure don't see many photos of Disneyland in which guests are dressed for cold weather. Notice the coats and even a few hats - not the colorful souvenir hats either, but headgear to keep noggins warm. The clock on Main Street says that it's not even 3 o'clock yet, but you can tell that night is on its way.

Ah! The long gone INA Carefree Corner. I remember going in there from time to time and seeing three backlit photos high up on the wall behind the counter. They featured Walt Disney World's Cinderella Castle, Space Mountain and Contemporary Resort Hotel. That wet my appetite for my first trip there in 1978.

Those little INA Disneyland Guide booklets were my favorite for graphics and layout. Now it's just a folded pamphlet guide. Nice set today. Thanks, Major.

Ken, you nailed it. While relatively simple, the graphics were amazing at getting across a lot of information clearly in a small space, and the uncluttered design - white page backgrounds (except a few special light blue ones to make them easy to find) - is something I think any theme park or museum could benefit from re-adopting in their disposable guide maps.

The INA guides were one of many, many little things that, when added up, made Disneyland that much more special than its contemporaries. Plus they fueled many an idle hour of daydreaming back home in the years before I finally got my own Sam McKim souvenir map.

Although all of our examples are lost now of 40 years of moves, storage, and midnight pixie raids, the fact that I can still remember the color of each land on the map - yellow for Main Street, orange for NOS, brown for Frontierland, pink for Fantasyland, and light blue for Tomorrowland - and the individualized graphics for most of the attractions is a testament to the effectiveness of their design.

Nanook, I still vote “mom”, it seems like people aged faster back then. I just saw a documentary about Bing Crosby, and was stunned that he was only 73 when he died. He looked much older.

K. Martinez, I am sure I never went into the Carefree Corner, unfortunately. Didn’t they also have a giant map of the park? Or was that someplace else? I loved those booklets!

Chuck, I remember actually copying the little maps in the booklets, which is über nerdy! My original copies are falling apart, but I have collected them since then, attempting to get all of them through the mid-1970s. It’s tough, because the early ones aren’t clearly labeled, I think I am missing ONE. But it’s hard to tell. Anyway, I clearly loved those things a lot.

I just looked at several of the early-to-mid 70's guidebooks that Vintage Disneyland Tickets has posted (thanks for the reminder, JG!), and my memory was slightly off - Bear Country was yellow, while Main Street was a lighter shade of orange than NOS. Here's a reference point for those who don't have a frame of reference for the discussion: http://vintagedisneylandtickets.blogspot.com/2008/02/spring-1976-disneyland-guide-book.html

Additionally, I found a 1965 guidebook he had posted that I'd never seen before. While the graphics are the same, the booklet's dimensions are different. It's also only printed in three colors (black, brown, and cyan), which makes the colors of the individual lands (except Tomorrowland) completely different.

Major - I think there was a giant map in there, but I more strongly remember a giant aerial photographic map of Disneyland at the old Global Van Lines storage locker facility on Town Square. It also was on a wall behind the counter. I'd stare at it, trying to memorize the layout details while leaving my items purchased for the day at the locker.

I think one of the reasons I explored Main Street so much as a youngster was I'd get low on tickets and it was free to explore all those shops and exhibits on Main Street as well as other "lands". That's what happened when you didn't have additional money for more tickets. You'd check out everything else to be occupied.

Chuck - I still have several of my INA Guide booklets from visits including a 1965 one. You were pretty right on about the colors.

JG, you are right, the lady does resemble the Calico woman, but they are different people. I think I DO have some other photos featuring the Calico lady, though!

JG again, if I could get my act together, there is no reason why I couldn't scan my own INA brochures… maybe pick an unusual year (not sure what that would be). We'll see!

Chuck, I wonder if your memories (besides the Adventureland omission) were of the guides before Bear Country was added? I'll have to dig my guides out and check. The 1965 book you mentioned has been referred to as the "black cover" guides. There are examples of these from '66 and '67 as well.

K. Martinez, I think it must be the Global Van Lines map that I was thinking of. I probably had less time to explore the park when I was a kid, because we would often go on "Navy Night", which meant that we only had the evenings. Of course we went other times, but… I don't know, we always seemed to be rushing around to do everything.

JG… thanks for providing those PDF files! I'm sure you're like me and miss the regular posts of the old "Vintage Disneyland Tickets" blog.

JG, wow, I am intrigued by the "cool thing" you mentioned. What can it be? I've tried to contact Mr. VDT a few times, and I guess he has just moved on to other things. Bummer. As for the PDF's, it's a lot of work for you, so it's up to you. I'm sure people would like to see them, though.

I'll have to dig through my stuff, so much of what I have has been posted by others. Maybe that doesn't matter?